The present invention relates generally to gate latch assemblies for pontoon boats. More particularly, this invention pertains to a dead bolt gate latch assembly for a pontoon boat.
Gate latches for pontoon boats are known in the art. For example, T-TH Marine, Inc, the assignee of the present application, manufactures a pontoon boat gate latch, shown in FIG. 1, that includes a two-piece base and an arm assembly rotatably connected to the base, both of which are manufactured out of molded Nylon. The base includes a first triangular-shaped base piece, which is connected to one side of a pontoon boat gate made using square tubing, and a second, rectangular-shaped base piece, which is connected to the opposite side of the pontoon boat gate adjacent to the first base piece. Both base pieces are connected to the gate using conventional screws and include openings that are adapted to receive the arm assembly. The arm assembly includes an L-shaped arm piece and a wing nut shaped arm piece connected together using a conventional screw. The L-shaped arm piece includes a small cylinder that is passed through the opening in the triangular base piece and inserted into a large cylinder having a wing nut shaped portion on one end. To secure the gate in place, the arm assembly is rotated into a position where it contacts a pontoon boat rail portion that is adjacent to the gate and the gate latch. Additional information regarding this gate latch may be obtained at T-H Marine's website, www.thmarine.com.
Marine East, located at 802 Mantolocking Road, Brick, N.J. 08723, also manufactures a pontoon boat gate latch. Referring to FIG. 2, the gate latch manufactured by Marine includes a U-shaped base piece and a handle rotatably connected to the base piece. Both the base and handle are manufactured out of high-impact Nylon. This latch is connected to a pontoon boat rail using a conventional screw and the longer leg of the U-shaped base is used to form a stop for a pontoon gate. Once the gate is moved into position against the stop, the handle is rotated down into a position that prevents the gate from moving back out away from the stop and opening up. Another similar version of this latch (not shown), which is identical to the version described above with the exception that it includes a notch in the shorter leg of the U-shaped base member for receiving pontoon boat railing panels, is also manufactured by Marine. Additional information regarding these gate latches may be found at www.marineeast.com.
Another type of pontoon boat gate latch (not shown) includes an externally mounted metal dead bolt assembly and catch. To use this type of gate latch, the dead bolt assembly and catch are mounted to a pontoon boat rail and gate using conventional screws. More specifically, the dead bolt assembly is mounted to the pontoon boat rail and the catch is mounted to the pontoon boat gate so that the catch is adjacent to the dead bolt assembly when the gate is positioned close to the rail. To lock the gate, the dead bolt is slide into the externally mounted catch, which engages the bolt and prevents the gate from moving.
The above-referenced gate latches have several disadvantages. First, all of these latches have limited load-bearing capabilities and can fail when these capabilities are exceeded. With regard to the T-H Marine and Marine East gate latches, these latches place the toad required to hold a gate closed on the rotatable arm or handle, respectively, used with these latches. As a result, the load bearing capability of these latches is dependent on the strength of the arm or handle used with these latches. The metal dead bolt gate latch has a similar deficiency in load bearing capacity. As indicated above, the dead bolt assembly and external catch are both connected to a pontoon boat using conventional screws. In this case, the load bearing capacity of the latch is limited by the strength of the connectors used to mount the dead bolt assembly and the external catch to the pontoon boat.
Second, neither the T-H Marine nor the Marine East latches include mechanisms that prevent these gate latches from inadvertently coming open during normal operation of a pontoon boat, i.e., when the pontoon boat this moving. Finally, the dead bolt type gate latch does not include any mechanism for properly aligning the dead bolt and the catch and can be difficult to properly operate.
Other known pontoon gate latches have additional disadvantages. For example, many known pontoon boat gate latches are expensive. Other gate latches, which include metal on metal contact points, rattle due to vibrations created during normal operations of a pontoon boat. And, others are simply not easy to use.
What is needed, then, is a less expensive, easy to operate, pontoon boat gate latch assembly that has greater load bearing capabilities and does not rattle during normal operations, a mechanism for preventing the inadvertent opening of the latch while a pontoon boat is moving, and a mechanism for ensuring that the latch is properly aligned.